of Card. Anthony Poola*
The Archbishop of Hyderabad reflects on the media coverage of the declaration of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith on the topic of the dignity of the person. “We only talk about gender theory, sex change and surrogacy. But the dignity denied to millions of people in India who struggle with poverty, exploitation and lack of access to health care cannot leave us indifferent “.
Hyderabad ()- Stopping only at bioethical issues means offering a partial (and too comfortable) reading of the doctrinal declaration on human rights Dignitatis Infinita published on Monday by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, says Card. Anthony Poola, Archbishop of Hyderabad, in this comment that he shares with about the reactions that the Vatican document has provoked in India (and not only there). “We must confront these sociocultural and religious models of thought that underlie the reasons why millions of people in India still live in inhumane conditions” and that Dignitatis Infinita calls into question. It is significant to remember that Card. Poola is the first Indian from a Dalit family (the “outcasts” or “untouchables”) who has received the purple, in the consistory convened in 2022 by Pope Francis. Through this direct knowledge of a form of denial of human dignity, his testimony also takes on a special meaning.
The Vatican document on human dignity comprehensively reflects the Catholic Church's understanding of the dignity of the person enriched in the light of biblical teachings and tradition, and the implications that its respect entails in different areas of life.
The media around the world and Indian newspapers have focused especially on gender theory, sex change and surrogacy; But doctrinal teaching covers a much broader terrain that needs to be explored. Issues such as poverty, migration, violence, human trafficking and abuse are burning issues that require urgent attention in the Indian context.
There is no doubt that today human dignity is denied to millions of people throughout the country, who fight against poverty, exploitation, discrimination, lack of access to health care and primary education, denial of rights…
Dignitas Infinita challenges us, especially as a Church, to engage in a debate about the growing gap between the rich and those who lack even the essentials, about those who emigrate to escape and survive, about the normalization of violence, about those who live in the peripheries and whose lives do not count.
In the light of evangelical values we must confront these socio-cultural and religious patterns of thought that underlie the reasons why millions of people in India still live in subhuman conditions, and find ways to ensure that their holiness and dignity are recognized and defended.
Talking about important but distant topics may be easy, but it is not easy to discuss the problems of which we are all a part. Reflecting on the dignity of life (or the denial) of a migrant who lives next door or of the poor in the neighborhood is not easy, but the Vatican instruction reminds us that this must also be at the center of our conversations .
The declaration also calls on the Indian Church to discuss the structural causes of poverty, injustice and violence, and to seek ways to defend the dignity of millions of people in our contexts.
(with the collaboration of Nirmala Carvalho)
